FTSE Russell, the global index provider, will now include two Asian countries in its Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI) and World Government Bond Index (WGBI) from September 2025. According to an official statement given by the FTSE on October 8th, 2024, India’s sovereign bonds will be added to the EMGBI after their inclusion by JP Morgan (JPM.N) in a new category and Bloomberg Index Services.
They further mentioned that the Indian securities would represent 9.35% of the index (currently at $4.7 trillion) on a market-value-weighted basis. According to Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, “The decision is a sentiment positive and will strengthen the demand side of India bonds structurally.”
However, adding India’s sovereign bonds to the indexes was not straightforward. The FTSE stated that they have watched Sovereign Bonds’ performance for the last three years and have deferred the inclusion of bonds in their index because of registration, settlement issues, and taxation policies.
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This decision follows the announcement that Indian government securities will be included in JPMorgan’s Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets index, which started in June 2024, and Bloomberg Index Services’ Emerging Market Local Currency, which started in January 2025.
Also, according to Reuters, the FTSE will include South Korean government bonds in its WGBI after monitoring its performance for two years. They will represent 2.2% of the index on a market value-weighted basis.
